Dear Pitt students, faculty and staff,
I’m writing today to update you on last week’s Board of Trustees meeting and to encourage you to participate in a few feedback opportunities.
Board of Trustees Meeting
The Board of Trustees convened for its February meeting last week. Among the key outcomes: The Board approved Trustee John Verbanac as chair-elect for a term beginning on July 1, 2024, and elected seven former trustees as emeritus trustees: Jane Bilewicz Allred, G. Nicholas Beckwith III, Sy Holzer, Keith Schaefer, Herb Shear, Tom VanKirk and Marna Cupp Whittington. The Board also passed a Resolution of Appreciation for departing Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Hari Sastry and advanced several important steps in the Board’s governance review initiative, which would reduce the size of the Board and the number of committees, among other recommendations.
Strategic Planning Update
During this meeting, we also shared a strategic planning update, including proposed action items for the Plan for Pitt 2028. The presentation built upon robust feedback from across the Pitt community and beyond. As we continue to drill down and fine-tune how we bring the plan to life, we invite you to review the strategic planning presentation from the meeting and share your feedback.
We also unveiled a new video, which is supported by our University Communications and Marketing team and represents the beginning of how “It’s Possible at Pitt” advances our story. We hope you enjoy it.
Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness (HESMA) Survey
Preventing and responding to sexual misconduct and assault is an issue that impacts all of us and is a priority for me and across every Pitt campus. As an institution, we are committed to creating and sustaining a campus culture and environment where students, faculty and staff feel safe and respected. To this end, I encourage all students to participate in the HESMA Survey. Your invaluable feedback will help guide future changes and enhancements to our prevention and response efforts and ensure an environment in which we can all thrive and be our best selves. Students: Please look out for an email from Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Clyde Wilson Pickett inviting you to complete the survey, which opens on Feb. 19.
Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Survey
Lastly, with appreciation for how busy this time of year is, I encourage all undergraduate students to complete the biennial SERU survey, which is a way for undergraduate students to provide us with confidential feedback about their experience at Pitt. This is the most comprehensive survey administered at Pitt, and we pay careful attention to the results to understand what is working well and where we need to improve at the University, college, department and program levels. The survey will also allow us to gauge our progress toward potential goals we aim to establish in the refreshed strategic plan in areas such as campus climate, student mental health, research opportunities and sense of belonging. Interim Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Joe McCarthy will be sending an email next month inviting undergraduate students to participate in the survey, which will launch on March 18.
Thank you for engaging in these opportunities and for all that you do for the University of Pittsburgh.
Hail to Pitt!
With warm regards,
Joan Gabel